Inspection system, inspection method, and computer program

ABSTRACT

A requester device 12 registers inspection target data in a file server 18. An inspector device 14 operated by an inspector who inspects whether the inspection target data is illegitimate or not acquires, from the file server 18, the inspection target data registered by the requester device 12 and registers an inspection result of the inspection target data in a blockchain network 22. A viewer device 16 acquires, from the blockchain network 22, the inspection result registered by the inspector device 14 and executes data processing based on the inspection result.

This application is a continuation application of PCT/JP2018/014256having an international filing date of Apr. 3, 2018, which claimspriority to JP2017-073830 filed Apr. 3, 2017, the entire content of eachof which is incorporated therein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a data processing technology, and moreparticularly to an inspection system, an inspection method, and acomputer program.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, information security has been regarded as important,and anti-virus software has been introduced to many computers (SeePatent Literature 1, for example).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2017-021779 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Although the introduction of anti-virus software is in progress, inreality, one anti-virus software cannot detect all malware (computervirus, Trojan horse, spyware, and the like). Also, introducing multipletypes of anti-virus software with different vendors and characteristicson one computer can be costly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, andhas an object to provide a technology for supporting inspection ofelectronic data.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above problems, an inspection system according toan aspect of the present invention includes a first device configured torecord inspection target data in a predetermined area, a second deviceoperated by a user who inspects whether the inspection target data isillegitimate or not, and a third device configured to use an inspectionresult of the inspection target data. The second device acquires theinspection target data recorded by the first device, and records aninspection result of the inspection target data in the predeterminedarea, and the third device acquires the inspection result recorded bythe second device.

Another aspect of the present invention is also an inspection system.This inspection system includes a requester device operated by aninspection requester, one or more inspector devices operated by one ormore inspectors, and a blockchain system being accessible by therequester device and the inspector device. The requester device recordsinspection target data in a predetermined area and records an inspectionreward in the blockchain system, the inspector device acquires theinspection target data recorded by the requester device and records aninspection result of the inspection target data in the predeterminedarea, the requester device acquires the inspection result recorded bythe inspector device and records, in the blockchain system, data of acorrect-result provider who is an inspector whose inspection result isrecognized to be correct by the requester, and the blockchain systemdistributes the inspection reward to the correct-result provider.

Another aspect of the present invention is an inspection method. Thismethod includes a step of recording inspection target data in apredetermined area by a first device, a step of acquiring the inspectiontarget data recorded by the first device, by a second device operated bya user who inspects whether the inspection target data is illegitimateor not, a step of recording an inspection result of the inspectiontarget data in the predetermined area by the second device, and a stepof acquiring the inspection result recorded by the second device, by athird device that uses the inspection result of the inspection targetdata.

Another aspect of the present invention is also an inspection method.This method includes a step of recording inspection target data in apredetermined area and recording an inspection reward in a blockchainsystem by a requester device operated by an inspection requester, a stepof acquiring the inspection target data recorded by the requester deviceand recording an inspection result of the inspection target data in thepredetermined area by each of one or more inspector devices operated byone or more inspectors, a step of acquiring the inspection resultrecorded by the one or more inspector devices and recording, in theblockchain system, data of a correct-result provider who is an inspectorwhose inspection result is recognized to be correct by the requester, bythe requester device, and a step of distributing the inspection rewardto the correct-result provide by the blockchain system.

It is noted that any combination of the above described constituentelements, one obtained by converting the description of the presentinvention in a program, a recording medium storing the program, or thelike is also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The present invention can support inspection of electronic data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inspection systemaccording to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of afile server of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of auser device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4(A) is a diagram illustrating a conceptual program code of VC.

FIG. 4(B) is a diagram illustrating the conceptual program code of VC.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a conceptual program code of an IC.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a conceptual program code of aninspection App.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating operation of a requester device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating operation of an inspector device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating operation of a viewer device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inspectionsystem of a third modification.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inspectionsystem according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of a requesterdevice of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of aninspector device of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of a viewerdevice of FIG. 11.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of ablockchain system of FIG. 11.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of inspection information.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating operation related to requesting aninspection.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating operation related to executing aninspection.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating operation by a requester related tojudging a result.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating operation by an inspector related toa final commit.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating operation when viewing an inspectionresult.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the inspectionsystem according to a modification.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of inspection informationaccording to a modification.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of a sponsordevice of FIG. 22

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

A first embodiment proposes a technology realizing an informationprocessing system (a later-described inspection system), in which, whena user uploads an electronic file whose legitimacy is unknown onto thenetwork, another user connected to the network checks the legitimacy ofthe electronic file. The electronic file whose legitimacy is unknown canbe an electronic file including malware. The inspection system accordingto the embodiment includes a blockchain network which is a distributednetwork being resistant to data tampering.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of an inspection system 10 accordingto the first embodiment. The inspection system 10 includes a requesterdevice 12, an inspector device 14, a viewer device 16, and a file server18. The respective devices in FIG. 1 are connected to one another via acommunication network 20 including a LAN, a WAN, the Internet, and thelike.

The requester device 12 is an information processing device operated bya user (hereinafter, also referred to as a “requester”) who requests aninspection of electronic data (an electronic file in the embodiment) tooutside. The electronic file to be inspected (hereinafter, also referredto as a “subject file”) may be an electronic file which may includemalware or an electronic file whose security needs to be confirmed.

The inspector device 14 is an information processing device operated bya user (hereinafter, also referred to as an “inspector”) who inspectslegitimacy of the subject file (whether or not illegitimate, and malwareor not, in other words). The inspector may be, for example, a specialistin information security technology. The viewer device 16 is aninformation processing device operated by a user (hereinafter, alsoreferred to as a “viewer”) who browses inspection results of a subjectfile, and is an information processing device that executes dataprocessing using the inspection results. The requester device 12, theinspector device 14, and the viewer device 16 may be, for example, a PC,a tablet terminal, or a smartphone.

The requester device 12, the inspector device 14, and the viewer device16 are installed with a library and an application (hereinafter, alsoreferred to as “inspection App”) for forming and using the blockchainnetwork 22. In other words, the requester device 12, the inspectordevice 14, and the viewer device 16 perform Peer to Peer (P2P)communication based on a known blockchain mechanism to form theblockchain network 22.

Here, in actual, many users can participate in the inspection system 10as a requester, an inspector, or a viewer. In addition, each user can beeither the requester, the inspector, or the viewer. For example, therequester device 12 in a case of inspecting a subject file A may serveas the inspector device 14 or the viewer device 16 in a case ofinspecting another subject file B. In addition, the inspector device 14in a case inspecting a subject file C may serve as the requester device12 or the viewer device 16 in a case of inspecting another subject fileD. Furthermore, the requester and the viewer may be a same user and, inother words, the requester device 12 and the viewer device 16 may be asame device. Hereinafter, the requester device 12, the inspector device14, and the viewer device 16 in FIG. 1 are collectively referred to as a“user device 24”.

The file server 18 is an information processing device that registers asubject file from the requester device 12 and provides the registeredsubject file to the inspector device 14. The above mentioned inspectionApp is not installed in the file server 18. In other words, the fileserver 18 is a device that does not participate in the blockchainnetwork 22, or a device that exists outside the blockchain network 22 inother words. Here, the file server 18 may be configured by a pluralityof servers.

In the following, components of the inspection system 10 will bedescribed with reference to block diagrams. Each block illustrated inthe block diagrams of the present specification can be realized byhardware with an element such as a CPU or a memory of a computer or amechanical device, or by software with a computer program or the like,but here, functional blocks which are realized in combination of theabove are illustrated. It is understood by those skilled in the art thatthese functional blocks can be realized in various forms by acombination of hardware and software.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of thefile server 18 of FIG. 1. The file server 18 includes a subject datastorage unit 30, a subject data receiving unit 32, and a subject dataproviding unit 34. The subject data storage unit 30 stores the subjectdata in association with an address (for example, a URL characterstring, and hereinafter also referred to as “subject file address”)indicating its storage position.

The subject data receiving unit 32 receives a subject file registrationrequest from the requester device 12. The subject data receiving unit 32stores, in the subject data storage unit 30, the subject file includedin the registration request. The subject data receiving unit 32transmits the subject file address to the requester device 12 as aresponse to the registration request.

The subject data providing unit 34 receives a subject file provisionrequest from the inspector device 14. The subject file provision requestincludes specification of an address (subject file address) indicating aspecific subject file. The subject data providing unit 34 transmits thesubject file identified by the specified subject file address from aplurality of subject files stored in the subject data storage unit 30 tothe inspector device 14.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theuser device 24 (that is, the requester device 12, the inspector device14, or the viewer device 16) of FIG. 1. The user device 24 includes aninput unit 40, a display unit 42, and a control unit 44. The input unit40 receives the user's operation and inputs the operation content to thecontrol unit 44. The display unit 42 displays image data output from thecontrol unit 44 on the screen.

The control unit 44 executes various data processing, and includes arequest processing unit 46, an inspection processing unit 48, and aviewing processing unit 50. The functions of these blocks may berealized by the CPU of the user device 24 executing an inspection App 52stored in a memory of the user device 24. Although each of the requestprocessing unit 46, the inspection processing unit 48, and the viewingprocessing unit 50 includes a plurality of modules as described later,all or some of the modules may be mounted in the file server 18 oranother server, which is different from the file server 18.

Data acquisition from the blockchain network 22 and data update on theblockchain network 22 in the following description are realized byactivating an application programming interface (API) included in thelibrary of the blockchain network 22 installed in the user device 24. Inactual, data of the blockchain network 22 is distributed and managed bythe requester device 12, the inspector device 14, and the viewer device16, and a base application of the blockchain network 22 realizes datasynchronization between the devices.

The request processing unit 46 mainly executes processing in therequester device 12. The request processing unit 46 includes a subjectdata registration unit 54, an SC generation unit 56, and an index updateunit 58.

The subject data registration unit 54 transmits the subject file to thefile server 18 and registers the subject file in the file server 18. Thesubject data registration unit 54 acquires a subject file address (forexample, a URL character string) indicating a storage position in thefile server 18 from the file server 18 when registering the subjectfile.

The SC generation unit 56 generates a smart contract including attributeinformation on the subject file registered in the file server 18 by thesubject data registration unit 54. The smart contract is also called anagent program that operates on the blockchain. This smart contract is,for example, an instance of a “VirusContract” class described later, andis hereinafter referred to as “VC” as meaning a virus contract. Theattribute information on the subject file includes the subject fileaddress in the file server 18. The SC generation unit 56 registers thegenerated VC in the blockchain network 22. In other words, the generatedVC is added to data of the blockchain network 22 (also referred to asledger data).

The index update unit 58 acquires, from the blockchain network 22, asmart contract including the addresses of a plurality of VCs (that is,position information on the blockchain network 22). This smart contractis, for example, an instance of a later described “IndexContract” class,and is hereinafter referred to as “IC” as meaning the index contract.The index update unit 58 adds the address of the VC generated by the SCgeneration unit 56 and identification information of the subject file (ahash value in the embodiment) to an acquired IC.

The inspection processing unit 48 mainly executes processing in theinspector device 14. The inspection processing unit 48 includes an indexacquisition unit 60, an SC acquisition unit 62, a subject dataacquisition unit 64, and an SC update unit 66.

The index acquisition unit 60 acquires an IC from the blockchain network22. The SC acquisition unit 62 acquires, from the IC, the address of theVC associated with the identification information (the hash value of thesubject file in the embodiment) of the subject file specified by theinspector. The SC acquisition unit 62 acquires the VC specified by theaddress from the blockchain network 22. The subject data acquisitionunit 64 acquires a subject file address from the VC. The subject dataacquisition unit 64 accesses the file server 18 and downloads thesubject file specified by the subject file address from the file server18.

After the inspector examines the subject file, the SC update unit 66records the inspection result in the VC of the subject file. The SCupdate unit 66 registers, in the blockchain network 22, the VC of thesubject file after recording the inspection result. In other words, theSC update unit 66 reflects the inspection result by the inspector on theVC of the subject file stored in the blockchain network 22.

The viewing processing unit 50 includes an index acquisition unit 68, anSC acquisition unit 70, an inspection result acquisition unit 72, aremittance unit 74, and an inspection result output unit 76.

The index acquisition unit 68 acquires an IC from the blockchain network22. The SC acquisition unit 70 acquires, from the IC, the address of theVC associated with the identification information (the hash value of thesubject file in the embodiment) of the subject file specified by theviewer. The SC acquisition unit 70 acquires, from the blockchain network22, the VC specified by the address. The inspection result acquisitionunit 72 acquires the inspection result of the subject file from the VCacquired by the SC acquisition unit 70. In other words, the inspectionresult acquisition unit 72 acquires the inspection result of the subjectfile stored on the blockchain network 22.

The remittance unit 74 executes a reward payment to both the inspectorand the requester in synchronization with the timing at which theinspection result is acquired. For example, the remittance unit 74 mayexecute a remittance (transfer) process from a viewer's account to aninspector's account and may execute a remittance process from theviewer's account to a requester's account. The inspection resultacquisition unit 72 may acquire the inspection result of the subjectfile on condition that the remittance process by the remittance unit 74is successful.

In addition, the remittance unit 74 records the remittance from theviewer to the requester and the information on the remittance from theviewer to the inspector in the ledger data of the blockchain network 22(or another blockchain for money exchange). This improves the certaintyof reward payment and prevents the payment amount from tampering.

The inspection result output unit 76 outputs the inspection result dataacquired by the inspection result acquisition unit 72 to the displayunit 42, and causes the display unit 42 to display the inspectionresult. According to the present embodiment, an inspection App 52including the request processing unit 46, the inspection processing unit48, and the viewing processing unit 50 is introduced to the requesterdevice 12, the inspector device 14, and the viewer device 16. As amodification, an inspection App including only the function of therequest processing unit 46 may be introduced to the requester device 12.Further, an inspection App including only the function of the inspectionprocessing unit 48 may be introduced to the inspector device 14, and aninspection App including only the function of the viewing processingunit 50 may be introduced to the viewer device 16.

FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) illustrate a conceptual program code of VC(VirusContract.java) (“java” is a registered trademark). FIG. 4(B)illustrates the continuation of FIG. 4(A). FIG. 5 illustrates aconceptual program code of the IC (IndexContract.java). FIG. 6illustrates a conceptual program code of the inspection App 52 using VCand IC (FlowTest.java). These program codes will be appropriatelyreferred to in the description of the flowcharts described later.

Operation of the Inspection System 10 Having the Above ConfigurationWill be Described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating operation of the requester device 12.When the requester specifies a subject file to be inspected in a GUI ofthe inspection App 52 (Y in S10), the subject data registration unit 54of the requester device 12 registers the subject file in the file server18. At the same time, the subject data registration unit 54 acquires thesubject file address in the file server 18 from the file server 18(S12). The subject data registration unit 54 transfers the subject fileand the subject file address to the SC generation unit 56.

The SC generation unit 56 uses the address of the requester device 12 onthe blockchain network 22, the subject file address, and the subjectfile hash value as parameters, as indicated by a code 80 in FIG. 6, togenerate a smart contract for the subject file address (hereinafter,referred to as “VC”) (S14). A hash function used to generate the hashvalue may be, for example, MD5. Although not illustrated in the code 80,the SC generation unit 56 further registers the generated VC instance inthe blockchain network 22 and acquires an address of the VC instance onthe blockchain network 22.

The index update unit 58 acquires a smart contract for index(hereinafter, referred to as “IC”) as indicated by a code 82 in FIG. 6.In practice, the index update unit 58 calls the API of the blockchainnetwork 22 to acquire the IC registered in the blockchain network 22.The index update unit 58 adds the hash value (key) of the subject fileand the address (value) of the VC to an address map (addressMap in FIG.5) of the acquired IC (S16). In a case where the operation to specifythe subject file is not input (N in S10), S12 to S16 are skipped and theflow of this drawing ends.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating operation of the inspector device 14.When the inspector requests acquisition of a specific subject file inthe GUI of the inspection App 52 (Y in S20), the index acquisition unit60 of the inspector device 14 acquires an IC registered in theblockchain network 22 (S22). In the present embodiment, the inspectorspecifies the hash value of the subject file to be acquired. The SCacquisition unit 62 acquires the VC address of the subject file from theIC, using the hash value of the subject file as a key, as indicated bythe code 84 in FIG. 6. Then, the SC acquisition unit 62 acquires the VCof the subject file registered in the blockchain network 22 using the VCaddress as a key (S24).

The subject data acquisition unit 64 acquires the subject file addressin the file server 18 from the VC, as indicated by a code 86 in FIG. 6.Then, subject data acquisition unit 64 acquires a subject file from fileserver 18 by using a subject file address as a key (S26). When theoperation for requesting acquisition of the subject file is not input (Nin S20), S22 to S26 are skipped. The inspector who has acquired thesubject file uses the inspector device 14 or another device to inspectwhether the subject file is illegitimate or not (for example, whether ornot malware is included). For example, the inspector may perform theinspection using existing anti-virus software. Also, the inspector maymanually analyze the subject file binary.

On the GUI of the inspection App 52, the inspector inputs inspectionresult information including a determination result, additionalinformation, and an inspection method. When the inspector requests forregistration of the inspection result for the subject file (Y in S28),the SC update unit 66 adds the inspector address on the blockchainnetwork 22 and the inspection result information to the VC of thesubject file, as indicated by the code 88 in FIG. 6 and the code 90 inFIG. 4(B) (S30). Although not illustrated in the code 88, the SC updateunit 66 further registers, in the blockchain network 22, the VC to whichthe inspection result information has been added. In a case where theoperation for requesting registration of the inspection result is notinput (N in S28), S30 is skipped and the flow of this drawing ends.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating operation of the viewer device 16. Ina case where the viewer selects a subject file to view the inspectionresult in the GUI of the inspection App 52 (Y in S40), the indexacquisition unit 68 of the viewer device 16 acquires the IC registeredin the blockchain network 22 (S42). According to the present embodiment,the inspector specifies the hash value of the subject file of aninspection result viewing target. The SC acquisition unit 62 acquiresthe address of the VC of the subject file from the IC, using the hashvalue of the subject file as a key, as indicated by a code 92 in FIG. 6.Then, the SC acquisition unit 62 acquires the VC of the subject fileregistered in the blockchain network 22 using the VC address as a key(S44).

As indicated by a code 94 in FIG. 6, the inspection result acquisitionunit 72 acquires a list of inspectors who registered inspection resultsfor the subject file, and the inspection result output unit 76 displaysthe list of the inspectors on the display unit 42 (S46). The inspectionresult output unit 76 stays standby until the viewer selects a specificinspector to display his/her inspection result (N in S48). In a casewhere the viewer selects a specific inspector (Y in S48), the inspectionresult acquisition unit 72 acquires the inspection result by theselected inspector (S50). More specifically, as indicated by a code 96in FIG. 6 and the code 98 in FIG. 4(A), the inspection resultacquisition unit 72 specifies the address of the viewer and the addressof the selected inspector as parameters, and acquires the inspectionresult associated with the address of the inspector.

The remittance unit 74 executes a remittance process from the viewer tothe requester and executes a remittance process from the viewer to theinspector, as indicated by a code 98 in FIG. 4(a). Furthermore,according to the present embodiment, the remittance unit 74 executes aremittance process from the viewer to the administrator of theinspection system 10 (S52). In other words, when the viewer browses theinspection result, a reward is paid to the three parties, which are therequester, the inspector, and the administrator. The inspection resultoutput unit 76 causes the display unit 42 to display the inspectionresult acquired by the inspection result acquisition unit 72, asindicated by a code 100 in FIG. 6 (S54). In a case where the subjectfile whose inspection result is to be viewed is not selected (N in S40),S42 to S54 are skipped and the flow of the drawing ends.

The operation of the inspection system 10 related to the inspection ofone subject file is performed in a flow of registration of the subjectfile, inspection of the subject file, and viewing of the inspectionresult. Therefore, in the inspection of the one subject file, theprocess of FIG. 7 by the requester device 12, the process of FIG. 8 bythe inspector device 14, and the process of FIG. 9 by the viewer device16 are executed in order. In the actual inspection system 10, theprocesses on a plurality of subject files are performed in parallel. Therequester device 12, the inspector device 14, and the viewer device 16always execute a synchronization process of data (VC, IC, and the like)in the blockchain network 22.

In the inspection system 10 according to the present embodiment, one ormore inspectors on the network inspect the legitimacy of the electronicdata uploaded by the requester, and the viewer (including the requester)can confirm the inspection results. With this configuration, malwaredetection accuracy can be improved with cooperation of other users,while all malware cannot be completely detected with only anti-virussoftware.

Further, in the inspection system 10, the attribute information and theinspection result of the subject file are transmitted and received viathe blockchain network 22. With this configuration, the attributeinformation and the inspection result of the subject file cannot beeasily tampered, and security level can be further improved. Also, asubject file itself, which has a relatively large data size, may betransmitted and received outside the blockchain network 22 so that loadon the blockchain network 22 can be suppressed.

Further, in the inspection system 10, when the viewer browses theinspection results, a reward is paid to the requester and the inspector.This configuration can be incentive to upload the subject file andinspect the subject file in the inspection system 10. In addition, theviewer can specify the inspection result to view based on its inspector.In other words, the viewer can selectively view the inspection result bya desired inspector such as an inspector who provides the inspectionresult with high accuracy or a reliable inspector. As a result, thereward is paid only to the inspector selected by the viewer, and thismay be inspector's incentive to register accurate inspection results.

The present invention has been described above based on the firstembodiment. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the firstembodiment is an exemplification, that various modifications can be madeto the combination of each component and each processing process, andthat such modifications are also within the scope of the presentinvention.

First Modification

According to the above embodiment, while the subject file is managed bythe file server 18, various pieces of attribute information (address,inspection result, and the like) related to the subject file are managedby blockchain network 22 composed of the requester device 12, theinspector device 14, and the viewer device 16. As a modification, onedevice (hereinafter, referred to as an “inspection support device”) maycentrally manage both the subject file and the attribute informationrelated to the subject file.

The inspection support device may have both the functions of the fileserver 18 according to the present embodiment and the functions of theblockchain network 22 according to the present embodiment. Morespecifically, the inspection support device may include an inspectionresult storage unit, an inspection result receiving unit, and aninspection result providing unit, in addition to the subject datastorage unit 30, the subject data receiving unit 32, and the subjectdata providing unit 34 in the file server 18 according to the presentembodiment. The inspection result storage unit may store an inspectionresult in association with subject data (a subject data address, forexample). The inspection result receiving unit may receive informationindicating the inspection result for the subject file transmitted fromthe inspector device 14 and store the information in the inspectionresult storage unit. The inspection result providing unit may providethe viewer device 16 with the inspection result corresponding to thesubject file specified by the viewer device 16 from the inspectionresults stored in the inspection result storage unit.

Second Modification

The requester device 12, the inspector device 14, and the viewer device16 may be devices that automatically execute the process for inspectingthe subject file without operation by a person. For example, when anexistence of an electronic file whose legitimacy is difficult todetermine is detected, the requester device 12 may automaticallyexecutes processes of uploading the electronic file as a subject file tothe file server 18, generating an SC of the subject file, and furtherupdating an IC.

The requester device 12 according to the second modification may be anelectronic mail server, and the subject file may be a file attached toan electronic mail. The electronic mail server may upload the attachedfile, for which no abnormality is detected by the local anti-virussoftware, to the file server 18 as a subject file. Also, the e-mailserver may upload the attached file to the file server 18 as a subjectfile, when the local anti-virus software does not detect anyabnormality, but its file type, size, name, or the like deviates frompredetermined criteria (white list, or the like).

Further, the viewer device 16 according to the second modification maydelete the subject file according to the inspection result, instead ofdisplaying the inspection result of the subject file. In addition, whenthe inspection result indicates that the subject file is illegitimate,the viewer device 16 may stop predetermined data processing related tothe subject file. For example, the viewer device 16 may be an electronicmail server. The electronic mail server may stop transferring electronicmail attached with the subject file or may discard the electronic mailwhen the subject file is determined to be illegitimate.

Third Modification

FIG. 10 illustrates a configuration of the inspection system accordingto a third modification. In the inspection system 10 according to theabove embodiment, the subject file is registered in the file server 18.According to the third modification, the inspection system 10 does notinclude the file server 18, and the subject file is registered in a P2Pnetwork 26 (the one-dot chain line in FIG. 10) different from theblockchain network 22 (the dashed line in FIG. 10).

A well-known library and application (hereinafter, also referred to as“P2P module”) for exchanging the subject file by P2P communication maybe introduced to each of the user devices 24 according to the thirdmodification. The subject data registration unit 54 of the user device24 (the requester device 12, in other words) may register the subjectfile (or the subject file and its hash value) in the P2P network 26using the P2P module (S12 in FIG. 7). For example, the subject dataregistration unit 54 may transmit the subject file to each of theplurality of other user devices 24.

Further, the subject data acquisition unit 64 of the user device 24 (theinspector device 14, in other words) may acquire the subject fileregistered in the P2P network 26 using the P2P module (S26 in FIG. 8).For example, the subject data acquisition unit 64 may acquire thesubject file corresponding to the hash value of the subject fileacquired from the blockchain network 22 from the storage in the P2Pnetwork 26 using the hash value as a key.

As another mode of the third modification, one user device 24 (inspectordevice 14) may acquire or refer to a subject file registered in thelocal storage of another user device 24 (requester device 12). Accordingto the configuration of the third modification, the subject file can beexchanged between different user devices 24 without providing the fileserver 18.

Second Embodiment

Also according to the second embodiment, an inspection system isproposed which supports inspection of electronic data (hereinafter, alsoreferred to as a “sample”) by using the blockchain technology. Thesample according to the second embodiment corresponds to the subjectfile of the first embodiment. Typically, the sample is an electronicfile which may include malware or an electronic file whose security isdesired to be confirmed, or may be various electronic data to beinspected. In the following, the elements same as the elements describedin the first embodiment will be described using the same referencenumerals. Further, the contents described in the first embodiment willbe omitted according to need.

FIG. 11 illustrates a configuration of an inspection system 101according to the second embodiment. The inspection system 101 includes arequester device 12, an inspector device 14 a, an inspector device 14 b,an inspector device 14 c, a viewer device 16, a file server 18, and aportal server 102. These devices are connected via a communicationnetwork 20.

The inspector device 14 a, the inspector device 14 b, and the inspectordevice 14 c are information processing devices operated by differentinspectors. The inspector device 14 a, the inspector device 14 b, andthe inspector device 14 c are referred to an inspector device 14, whenthey are collectively mentioned. The portal server 102 is a webapplication server that provides various types of information related tothe inspection system 101 to the requester device 12, the inspectordevice 14, and the viewer device 16.

The inspection system 101 also includes a blockchain system 104corresponding to the blockchain network 22 of the first embodiment. Inthe requester device 12, the inspector device 14, and the viewer device16, a library and an application to from and use the blockchain system104 are installed.

The blockchain system 104 can also be called a distributed databasesystem (distributed ledger system), and is built on Ethereum, which isone of blockchain platforms. The blockchain system 104 includes threesmart contract programs, which are a virus SC 106, a token SC 108, andan actor SC 110. These smart contracts are accessible from each of therequester device 12, the inspector device 14, the viewer device 16, andthe portal server 102, and are synchronized between these devices.

The virus SC 106 is a smart contract that stores data and processesdata, related to sample inspection. The token SC 108 is a smart contractthat stores data and processes data, related to a token that is avirtual currency in the inspection system 101. The actor SC 110 is asmart contract that stores data and processes data, related to an actor(mainly the requester and the inspector) of the inspection system 101.

Although one requester device 12 and one viewer device 16 areillustrated in FIG. 11, the inspection system 101 may include aplurality of requester devices 12 of different requesters and aplurality of viewer devices 16 of different viewers. Also, as describedin the first embodiment, one user can participate in the inspectionsystem 101 in any position of the requester, the inspector, and theviewer. For example, one information processing device may function asthe requester device 12, the inspector device 14, and the viewer device16.

In the following, functional blocks of the requester device 12, theinspector device 14, and the viewer device 16 will be separatelydescribed; however, the function of each device may be provided by anapplication program as described in the first embodiment (FIG. 3). Also,the function of each device may be provided by each device executing aweb application program provided by a predetermined web server (theportal server 102, for example).

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of therequester device 12 of FIG. 11. The requester device 12 includes aninput unit 40, a display unit 42, a control unit 44, and a communicationunit 112. The communication unit 112 communicates with an externaldevice according to a predetermined communication protocol. The controlunit 44 transmits and receives data to and from the file server 18 andthe portal server 102 via the communication unit 112.

The control unit 44 includes a sample search unit 120, a sampleregistration unit 122, an inspection request unit 124, a reportacquisition unit 126, a nonce registration unit 128, and a result commitunit 130. The sample search unit 120 acquires, from the portal server102, information on one or more samples, which are being inspected orhave been inspected. The sample registration unit 122 registers a sampleto be inspected in the file server 18. The inspection request unit 124registers a sample inspection request in the blockchain system 104. Forexample, the inspection request unit 124 records an inspection reward inthe blockchain system 104.

The report acquisition unit 126 acquires, from the file server 18, anevaluation report indicating a sample evaluation result by theinspector. When a plurality of inspectors participate in the inspectionof the sample registered by the requester, the report acquisition unit126 acquires a plurality of evaluation reports created by the pluralityof inspectors from the file server 18. The evaluation result by theinspector indicates at least one of “white” representing that the sampleis legitimate (not malware, for example) and “black” representing thatthe sample is illegitimate (malware, for example).

Here, in addition to the evaluation result by the inspector, a gradedscore indicating a degree of confidence of the inspector regarding theevaluation result (a value that the inspector himself/herself evaluatescertainty that his/her evaluation result is correct) may be included inthe evaluation report created by the inspector. For example, “white;80%” represents that the inspector determines that the sample islegitimate and that the inspector thinks that the certainty is 80%. Thedegree of confidence of the inspector regarding the evaluation resultmay be the above described graded score, or may be graded assessmentsuch as “confident”, “somewhat confident”, or “not confident”.

The nonce registration unit 128 registers, in the portal server 102, anonce (a random number, in other words) (hereinafter, also referred toas “result nonce”) generated by a predetermined random number generator.The result commit unit 130 cooperates with the virus SC 106 to executeresult commit processing. For example, the result commit unit 130 maycall a method for result commit processing implemented in the virus SC106. Here, according to the present embodiment, calling the method ofthe smart contract may be replaced with issuing a transaction to thesmart contract by another known method.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of theinspector device 14 of FIG. 11. The control unit 44 of the inspectordevice 14 includes a request search unit 140, a sample acquisition unit142, a sample check unit 144, a report registration unit 146, anevaluation commit unit 148, a nonce acquisition unit 150, a resultconfirmation unit 152, and a final commit unit 154.

The request search unit 140 acquires information on one or moreregistered inspection requests from the portal server 102. The sampleacquisition unit 142 acquires, from the file server 18, a sampleselected by the inspector. The sample check unit 144 checks a hash valueand verifies the legitimacy (no tampering, in other words) of the sampleacquired by the sample acquisition unit 142. The report registrationunit 146 registers, in the file server 18, the evaluation report createdby the inspector after inspecting the sample.

The evaluation commit unit 148 cooperates with the virus SC 106 toexecute an evaluation commit process. For example, the result commitunit 130 may call a method for evaluation commit implemented in thevirus SC 106.

The nonce acquisition unit 150 acquires a result nonce registered in theportal server 102. The result confirmation unit 152 confirms whether therequester finally determines that the sample is legitimate (“white”) orillegitimate (“black”) (hereinafter, also referred to as“black-and-white judgement result”). The final commit unit 154cooperates with the virus SC 106 to execute final commit processing. Forexample, the final commit unit 154 may call a method for final commitimplemented in the virus SC 106.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of the viewerdevice 16 of FIG. 11. The control unit 44 of the viewer device 16includes a sample search unit 160, a viewing execution unit 162, and arequester evaluation unit 164.

The sample search unit 160 acquires, from the portal server 102,information on one or more samples during and after the inspection. Theviewing execution unit 162 cooperates with the virus SC 106 to execute aprocess for viewing the inspection result of the sample selected by theviewer. The requester evaluation unit 164 executes processing forevaluating the requester in cooperation with the virus SC 106. Forexample, the requester evaluation unit 164 may call a method for viewingprocessing implemented in the virus SC 106.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of theblockchain system 104 of FIG. 11. As described above, the blockchainsystem 104 includes the virus SC 106, the token SC 108, and the actor SC110.

The token SC 108 includes a user account storage unit 170, a requestaccount storage unit 172, an organizer account storage unit 174, and aviewing account storage unit 175. The user account storage unit 170stores information on an account (requester account) owned by therequester, information on a plurality of accounts (inspector accounts)owned by a plurality of inspectors, and information on an account(viewer account) owned by a viewer. According to the second embodiment,each user owns a token which is a virtual currency defined by theinspection system 101. In the account information of each user, balanceinformation of the token owned by each user is recorded. Each user'saccount is identified by an address of each user.

The request account storage unit 172 stores information on a pluralityof accounts (inspection request accounts) corresponding to a pluralityof inspection requests. The inspection request account is identified bythe hash value of the sample to be inspected. In the inspection system101, every time a new inspection request is registered, a new inspectionrequest account is established. The organizer account storage unit 174stores information on an account owned by an organizer of the inspectionsystem 101. For example, the organizer is a company that provides thefile server 18, the portal server 102, and the blockchain system 104.The viewing account storage unit 175 stores information on an account(viewing account) established for each viewing. The viewing account isidentified by the viewer's address.

The actor SC 110 includes a score storage unit 176. The score storageunit 176 stores a score of the requester and respective scores of theplurality of inspectors. The requester score is modified according tothe requester evaluation result by the viewer as described later, andaffects the amount of the fee to the organizer paid at the time ofregistration of the inspection request. More specifically, a requesterwhose score is lower pays a higher fee. The inspector score is modifiedaccording to whether the inspector evaluation result is correct or not(whether or not the result is judged to be correct by the requester, inthe embodiment), and affects the reward distribution ratio. Morespecifically, an inspector whose score is relatively high has arelatively high distribution ratio.

Further, the actor SC 110 may include a transaction history storage unit(not illustrated). The transaction history storage unit stores a numberof request registrations of the requester, a number of fee payments, anumber of unpaid fees, an accumulated sum of registered awards and thelike, a number of inspector evaluation report registrations, a number ofcorrect responses, a number of incorrect responses, an average value ofgraded scores indicating a degree of confidence of the inspectorregarding evaluation results, an accumulated sum of earned rewards, anumber of times of viewing, and the like, and is updated according tothe processing in the inspection system. The requester score and theinspector score may be calculated and updated based on values stored inthe transaction history storage unit.

The virus SC 106 includes an inspection information storage unit 178, arequest processing unit 180, an evaluation commit processing unit 182, aresult commit processing unit 184, a final commit processing unit 186, aviewing processing unit 192, and a requester evaluation processing unit194. The inspection information storage unit 178 stores inspectioninformation generated for each inspection request from the requester.The inspection information includes a plurality of items related to theinspection request or the sample.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of inspection information. The hash valueof the sample is a key of each piece of inspection information. Arequester setting item 200 and a requester setting item 202 areinformation items set by the requester device 12 which has registered aninspection request for a sample a. The inspector setting item 204 andthe inspector setting items 206 are items set by a plurality ofinspector devices 14 which have evaluated the sample a. The address ofthe user is unique data (ID) for each user who makes a payment when theuser registers an account in the inspection system 101.

Referring back to FIG. 15, the request processing unit 180 executesprocessing upon inspection request in response to a call from therequester device 12. The evaluation commit processing unit 182 executesprocessing at the time of evaluation commit in response to a call fromthe inspector device 14. The result commit processing unit 184 executesprocessing upon result commit in response to a call from the requesterdevice 12.

The final commit processing unit 186 executes processing upon finalcommit in response to a call from the inspector device 14. The finalcommit processing unit 186 includes an inspector evaluation unit 188 anda token transfer unit 190. The inspector evaluation unit 188 adjusts thescore of the inspector stored in the score storage unit 176 of the actorSC 110. The token transfer unit 190 transfers a token between theaccounts stored in the token SC 108.

The viewing processing unit 192 executes processing at the time ofviewing in response to a call from the viewer device 16. The requesterevaluation processing unit 194 executes processing upon requesterevaluation in response to a call from the viewer device 16.

The operation of the inspection system 101 having the aboveconfiguration will be described.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating operation related to an inspectionrequest. The sample search unit 120 of the requester device 12transmits, to the portal server 102, a request for sample search using ahash value of a sample of the inspection candidate designated by therequester as a key (S100). The portal server 102 searches for inspectioninformation stored in the virus SC 106 using the hash value specified inthe search request as a key. The portal server 102 transmits a searchresult indicating whether the sample corresponding to the hash valueexists (that is, under inspection or inspection completed) or not (thatis, not inspected) to the inspector device 14 (S102). The requesterdevice 12 displays the search result on a screen.

In a case where the test candidate's sample has not been inspected, therequester inputs, to the requester device 12, an instruction operationto request an inspection of the sample. The sample registration unit 122of the requester device 12 transmits a registration request includingdata of the sample itself to the file server 18 (S104). The file server18 stores the data of the sample transmitted from the requester device12 in a predetermined storage area (S106). The file server 18 issues asample Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), which is a unique ID in thefile server 18, for the stored sample, and transmits the sample URI tothe requester device 12 (S108). The sample registration unit 122 of therequester device 12 acquires the sample URI transmitted from the fileserver 18.

The inspection request unit 124 of the requester device 12 activates aninspection request method of the virus SC 106 by using a plurality ofpieces of attribute data related to the sample as parameters (S110). Theplurality of pieces of attribute data related to the sample include ahash value of the sample, a requester address, a sample URI, aninspection deadline, and a reward amount (a token amount, in otherwords). The inspection deadline and the reward amount are arbitrarilydetermined by the requester. The request processing unit 180 of thevirus SC 106 records the inspection information (requester setting item200) including the plurality of pieces of attribute data in theinspection information storage unit 178 (S112). At this time, a statusof the inspection information is set during the inspection.

Further, the request processing unit 180 of the virus SC 106 recordsaccount information (inspection request account) corresponding to thecurrent inspection request in the request account storage unit 172 ofthe token SC 108. The request processing unit 180 transfers the token ofthe reward amount, the token of the fee to the organizer, and the tokenof the deposit of the requester from the requester account of the tokenSC 108 to the inspection request account (S114). The virus SC 106 maycause the token SC 108 to execute token transfer processing by anexternal call. Also, the token SC 108 determines the amount of the feeto the organizer according to the requester score stored in the actor SC110. According to the present embodiment, the higher the requesterscore, the lower the fee, and the lower the requester score, the higherthe fee. This configuration gives the requester an incentive to increasethe requester score.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating operation related to an execution ofan inspection. The processes of FIG. 18 are executed by each of theplurality of inspector devices 14. The request search unit 140 of theinspector device 14 transmits a search request for an inspection requestto the portal server 102 (S120). The portal server 102 refers to theinspection information of the virus SC 106, and transmits information onthe inspection request whose status is under inspection as a searchresult to the inspector device 14 (S122). The information on theinspection request includes the sample hash value, the deadline, thereward, the number of inspectors who have completed the evaluation (thenumber of inspectors recorded in the inspection information), and thesample URI included in the inspection information of the virus SC 106,and further includes a requester score and the score of an evaluationcompletion inspector recorded in the actor SC 110. The inspector device14 displays the search result on a screen.

The inspector confirms the search result, and determines the sample tobe inspected by the inspector (hereinafter referred to as “targetsample”). The sample acquisition unit 142 of the inspector device 14downloads the target sample from the file server 18 based on the sampleURI of the target sample (S124). The file server 18 transmits the dataof the target sample to the inspector device 14 (S126). The sample checkunit 144 of the inspector device 14 acquires the hash value of the dataof the target sample acquired from the file server 18, and checksidentity with the hash value of the target sample acquired from theportal server 102 (S128). With this configuration, it is confirmed thatthe data of the target sample acquired from the file server 18 is nottampered, which means the data is original data.

The inspector inspects whether the target sample is malware or not, andcreates an evaluation report including at least data indicating whetherthe target sample is malware (“black”) or not (“white”). When theinspector inputs an instruct operation of evaluation commit to theinspector device 14, the report registration unit 146 of the inspectordevice 14 encrypts the evaluation report with a public key of therequester (S130). The report registration unit 146 uploads an evaluationreport to the file server 18 (S132). The file server 18 stores data ofthe evaluation report transmitted from the inspector device 14 in apredetermined storage area (S134). The file server 18 issues a reportURI, which is a unique ID in the file server 18, of the storedevaluation report, and transmits the report URI to the inspector device14 (S136). The report registration unit 146 of the inspector device 14acquires the report URI.

The evaluation commit unit 148 of the inspector device 14 acquires anonce generated by a predetermined random number generator (S138). Theevaluation commit unit 148 activates an evaluation commit method of thevirus SC 106 using a plurality of pieces of attribute data related tothe evaluation as a parameter (S140). The plurality of pieces ofattribute data related to the evaluation include a hash value of theevaluation report, a hash value of data acquired by combining a valueindicating that the target sample is “white” or “black” with a nonce(also referred to as “evaluation hash value”), and the report URI. Sincethe hash value of the evaluation report is included, the inspectorcannot deny that he/she has not created the evaluation report in thefuture.

The evaluation commit processing unit 182 of the virus SC 106 updatesthe inspection information based on the plurality of pieces of attributedata, and records, for example, the inspector setting item 204 or theinspector setting item 206 (S142). Here, the final commit flag of theinspector setting item is set to “uncommitted”. Further, the evaluationcommit processing unit 182 of the virus SC 106 transfers a predeterminedamount of tokens from the inspector account of the token SC 108 to theinspection request account as a deposit of the inspector (S144).

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an operation related to resultdetermination by the requester. When the time limit specified in theinspection request passes, the report acquisition unit 126 of therequester device 12 refers to the inspection information of the virus SC106 to acquire a report URI associated with the sample (sample hashvalue) requested to be inspected. The report acquisition unit 126requests the file server 18 for the evaluation report identified by thereport URI (S150). The file server 18 transmits the data of theevaluation report requested from the requester device 12 to therequester device 12 (S152). The report acquisition unit 126 of therequester device 12 decodes the evaluation report using a private key ofthe requester (S154).

The report acquisition unit 126 inputs data of the decoded evaluationreport into a hash function to acquire a hash value, and acquires a hashvalue of the evaluation report recorded in the inspection information ofthe virus SC 106. The report acquisition unit 126 confirms identity ofthe two hash values (S156). With this configuration, it is confirmedthat the evaluation report has not been tampered. The requester device12 repeats the processes of S150 to S156 by the number of inspectors whoevaluated the sample, that is, the number of evaluation reports of thesample. The requester confirms content of one or more evaluation reportsby one or more inspectors, and comprehensively judges whether or not thesample of the inspection request is malware (black or white, in otherwords). Hereinafter, this judgement is also referred to as“black-and-white judgement”.

The requester inputs an instruction operation of a result commit toregister the result of the black-and-white judgement to the inspectordevice 14. The nonce registration unit 128 of the inspector device 14generates a result nonce to be added to the result of theblack-and-white judgement (S158), and transmits the sample hash valueand the result once to the portal server 102 (S160). The portal server102 associates and stores the sample hash value and the result nonce(S162).

The result commit unit 130 of the requester device 12 activates a resultcommit method of the virus SC 106 by using a plurality of pieces ofattribute data related to the black-and-white judgement result as aparameter (S164). A plurality of pieces of attribute data related to theblack-and-white judgement result include a hash value of data obtainedby combining a value indicating whether the sample is “black” or “white”and the result nonce (hereinafter, also referred to as “result hashvalue”), an arrangement of addresses of correct-result providers, and aviewing fee to view the black and white judgment result. Thecorrect-result provider is an inspector whose evaluation result isdetermined to be correct by the requester or, in other words, aninspector who has made a same evaluation as the black-and-whitejudgement by the requester. Also, the viewing fee is arbitrarilydetermined by the requester. The result commit processing unit 184 ofthe virus SC 106 updates the inspection information based on theplurality of pieces of attribute data, and records, for example, therequester setting item 202 in FIG. 16 (S166).

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating operation related to the finalcommit by the inspector. The final commit can be referred to as anapproval of the black-and-white judgement result by the requester. Thenonce acquisition unit 150 of the inspector device 14 requests theportal server 102 for a result nonce using the hash value of the sampleevaluated by the inspector as a key (S170). The portal server 102permits provision of the result nonce when the inspector of the resultnonce request source is recorded in the inspection information of thevirus SC 106 having the sample hash value as a key or, in other words,when the inspector is a legitimate inspector (S172). The portal server102 transmits the result nonce to the inspector device 14 of the validinspector (S174). The nonce acquisition unit 150 of the inspector device14 acquires the result nonce.

The result confirmation unit 152 of the inspector device 14 acquires theresult hash value from the inspection information of the virus SC 106.The result confirmation unit 152 determines whether the black-and-whitejudgement result by the requester is “black” or “white” by comparing thehash value of data obtained by combining the result nonce with apredetermined “white” value, a hash value of data obtained by combiningthe result nonce with a predetermined “black” value, and a result hashvalue (S176). In other words, when the hash value of the data obtainedby combining the result nonce with the predetermined “white” valuematches the result hash value, the result confirmation unit 152identifies that the requester has determined “white”. Further, when thehash value of the data obtained by combining the result nonce with thepredetermined “black” value matches the result hash value, the resultconfirmation unit 152 identifies that the requester has determined“black”.

The result confirmation unit 152 may display on the screen whether therequester has determined that the sample is valid (“white”) or malware(“black”). Further, in S176, the result confirmation unit 152 acquiresthe arrangement of the correct-result provider addresses from theinspection information of the virus SC 106, and displays the arrangementon the screen. The result confirmation unit 152 may display on thescreen whether or not the address of the inspector of the inspectordevice 14 is included in the arrangement of the correct-result provideraddresses.

When the black-and-white judgement result by the requester is the sameas the inspector's evaluation result or when the inspector is acorrect-result provider, the inspector confirms that his/her address isincluded in the arrangement of the correct-result provider addresses. Inthe case of approving the black-and-white judgement result by therequester and the recognition of the correct-result providers, theinspector inputs an instruction operation of the final commit to theinspector device 14. The final commit unit 154 of the inspector device14 activates a final commit method of the virus SC 106 using a parameterincluding the sample hash value and the inspector address (S178).

The final commit processing unit 186 of the virus SC 106 updates theinspection information based on the parameter transmitted from theinspector device 14 (S180). For example, the final commit processingunit 186 changes the final commit flag of the inspector setting item to“committed”.

The inspector evaluation unit 188 of the final commit processing unit186 refers to the correct-result provider address in the inspectioninformation and, based on whether the inspector (also referred to as a“target inspector”) who made the final commit is a correct-resultprovider or not, the score of the target inspector is adjusted (S182).For example, when the target inspector is the correct-result provider,the inspector evaluation unit 188 modifies the score of the targetinspector recorded in the actor SC 110 to a greater value. In addition,when the target inspector is not a correct-result provider, theinspector evaluation unit 188 modifies the score of the target inspectorto a smaller value. The virus SC 106 may update the score recorded inthe actor SC 110 by an external call.

The token transfer unit 190 of the final commit processing unit 186transfers the deposit of the inspector recorded in the inspectionrequest account to the account of the inspector based on the inspectoraddress transmitted from the inspector device 14 (S184). In other words,the token transfer unit 190 refunds the token deposited from theinspector at the time of registration of the evaluation report to theaccount of the inspector at the time of final commit.

Here, the token transfer unit 190 further performs following processesat a final commit by the last inspector in a case where there are morethan one inspector for one sample, or at the final commit by oneinspector in a case where there is a single inspector. (1) The tokentransfer unit 190 distributes a reward to the inspector who has beenidentified as the correct-result provider. In this case, the tokentransfer unit 190 refers to the actor SC 110 to refer to the score ofeach correct-result provider, and assigns a relatively large reward tothe inspector having a relatively high score. (2) The token transferunit 190 transfers the fee recorded in the inspection request account tothe organizer account.

The token transfer unit 190 transfers the deposit of the requesterrecorded in the inspection request account to the requester account. Inother words, the token transfer unit 190 refunds the token depositedfrom the requester at the time of the inspection request to the accountof the requester. In addition, the final commit processing unit 186updates a status in the requester setting item to “inspectioncompleted”. When all the final commit flags in one or more inspectorsetting items recorded in the inspection information of a certain samplebecome committed, the final commit processing unit 186 determines thatall the inspectors of the sample have performed the final commit.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when the inspectionresult is viewed. The sample search unit 160 of the viewer device 16transmits a search request for a sample as a viewing candidate to theportal server 102 (S190). The portal server 102 transmits the searchresult including the sample information in a completion status to theviewer device 16 (S192). The above sample information includes thesample hash value, the status, the viewing fee, a requester addresses,one or more inspector addresses, and one or more correct-result provideraddresses, which are included in the inspection information of the virusSC 106. Furthermore, the requester score and the inspector scorerecorded in the actor SC 110 are included.

The viewing execution unit 162 of the viewer device 16 activates aviewing processing method of the virus SC 106 using a parameterincluding a sample address and a viewer address (S194). The viewingprocessing unit 192 of the virus SC 106 transfers a token for theviewing fee from the viewer account to the requester account in thetoken SC 108. Further, the viewing processing unit 192 transfers a tokenfor a predetermined fee from the viewer account to the organizeraccount. In addition, the viewing processing unit 192 records thecurrent account for viewing in the token SC 108, and transfers apredetermined amount of tokens from the viewer account to the currentaccount for viewing as a deposit for the viewer (S196).

Also, in S194, the viewing execution unit 162 of the viewer device 16transmits a viewing request including the sample address and the vieweraddress to the portal server 102. The portal server 102 uses the vieweraddress to confirm that the viewer has paid the viewing fee (S198). Whenthe viewer has paid the viewing fee, the portal server 102 transmits theresult nonce associated with the sample address (the result nonce storedin S162) to the viewer device 16 (S200). The viewing execution unit 162of the viewer device 16 acquires the result nonce.

The viewing execution unit 162 of the viewer device 16 acquires theresult hash value of the viewing target sample from the inspectioninformation of the virus SC 106. The viewing execution unit 162 judgeswhether the black-and-white judgement result for the sample to be viewedis “white” or “black,” by comparing a hash value of data obtained bycombining the result nonce with a predetermined value of “white”, a hashvalue of data obtained by combining the result nonce with apredetermined value of “black”, and a result hash (S202). Theblack-and-white judgement result here is a final determination result bythe requester of the sample as a viewing target. The viewing executionunit 162 may display on the screen whether the black-and-white judgementresult of the sample as a viewing target is “white” or “black”.

After confirming the black-and-white judgement result, the viewerevaluates the requester and inputs the evaluation result to the viewerdevice 16. Typically, the viewer sets a high evaluation value when theblack-and-white judgement result by the requester is correct, while theviewer sets a low evaluation value when the black-and-white judgementresult by the requester is incorrect. The case that the black-and-whitejudgement result of the requester is incorrect is, for example, a casethat the viewing target sample is actually found to be malware (“black”)even though the requester has judged that the viewing target sample islegitimate (“white”) or conversely, a case that the viewing targetsample is actually found to be legitimate (“white”) even though therequester has judged that the viewing target sample is malware(“black”). The requester evaluation unit 164 of the viewer device 16activates a requester evaluation method of the virus SC 106 using theviewer address and the evaluation value of the requester as parameters(S204).

The requester evaluation processing unit 194 of the virus SC 106 adjuststhe requester score based on the requester evaluation value transmittedfrom the viewer device 16 (S206). For example, when the requesterevaluation value is high, the requester evaluation processing unit 194may modify the requester score recorded in the actor SC 110 to a highervalue. Conversely, when the requester evaluation value is low, therequester evaluation processing unit 194 may modify the requester scorerecorded in the actor SC 110 to a smaller value. Further, the requesterevaluation processing unit 194 transfers the depositor of the viewerrecorded in the viewing account to the viewer account (S208). In otherwords, the requester evaluation processing unit 194 refunds the tokendeposited from the viewer at the time of viewing execution to the vieweraccount at the time of requester evaluation.

The present invention has been described above based on the secondembodiment. It is understood by those skilled in the art that thissecond embodiment is an exemplification, and that various modificationscan be made to the combination of each component and each processingprocess, and such modifications are also within the scope of the presentinvention.

A modified example will be described. Although not mentioned in thesecond embodiment, the inspection system 101 may have a mechanism inwhich another person can support the inspection request registered by acertain requester. FIG. 22 illustrates a configuration of an inspectionsystem 101 according to the modification. The inspection system 101includes a sponsor device 210 in addition to the configuration of thesecond embodiment. The sponsor device 210 is an information processingdevice operated by a sponsor. The sponsor is a user who sponsors theinspection of the sample registered by a requester or, in other words, auser who requests the inspection of the same sample with the requester.The sponsor for the inspection of a certain sample may be a requester,an inspector, or a viewer in an inspection of another sample.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of the inspection information accordingto the modification. According to the present modification, therequester device 12 and the virus SC 106 further set a sponsorship flagand a reward upper limit when registering an inspection request. Thesponsorship flag is set to either permit the sponsorship of anotherparty (“sponsoring”) or prohibit the sponsorship of the other person(“no sponsoring”). The reward upper limit is set when the sponsorshipflag indicates sponsoring. The reward upper limit is an upper limit ofthe reward amount added by the sponsor.

The purpose of the sponsor to sponsor the sample inspection is to raisethe reward amount to improve the inspector's motivation, to encourageactive evaluation, and to receive the distribution of the viewing fee.When all the inspectors have made a final commit, the token transferunit 190 of the virus SC 106 distributes the sum of the requester rewardamount and the sponsor's additional amount to one or more correct-resultproviders. In addition, the token transfer unit 190 distributes theviewing fee paid by the viewer between the requester and the sponsoraccording to a reward sharing ratio. For example, when the requesterreward amount is 80 tokens, the sponsor's additional amount is 20tokens, and the viewing fee is 10 tokens, the token transfer unit 190may transfer 8 tokens from the viewer account to the requester accountand transfer 2 tokens from the viewer account to the sponsor account.

In the above example, when there is no sponsor, the requester canreceive 10 tokens per view, but since there is a sponsor, the revenueper view becomes 8 tokens. Also, the viewing fee needs to be about 13tokens in order to provide the viewer 10 tokens per view; however, thismay cause a reduction of the number of viewers. The setting items foradjusting such a decrease in revenue are the sponsorship flag and thereward upper limit. For example, the requester can arbitrarily adjustthe revenue per viewing by adjusting the reward amount, the reward upperlimit, and the viewing fee. The requester compares and balancesinspection activeness and his/her revenue, and sets the sponsorship flagand the reward upper limit.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating functional blocks of the sponsordevice 210 of FIG. 22. The sponsor device 210 includes a requesterdevice 12, a display unit 42, a communication unit 112, and a controlunit 44. The control unit 44 includes a request search unit 212 and asponsoring unit 214.

The request search unit 212 acquires information on the one or moreregistered inspection requests from the portal server 102. For example,the request search unit 212 transmits a search request for an inspectionrequest to the portal server 102. The portal server 102 refers to theinspection information of the virus SC 106, and transmits information onthe inspection request whose status is under inspection as a searchresult to the sponsor device 210. The information on the inspectionrequest includes the sample hash value, the deadline, the reward, thenumber of inspectors who have completed evaluation (the number ofinspectors recorded in the inspection information), and the sample URIincluded in the inspection information of the virus SC 106. Furthermore,the requester score recorded in the actor SC 110 and the score of theevaluation completion inspector are included. The portal server 102 maytransmit, to the sponsor device 210, only the information of theinspection request for which the sponsorship flag is set as thesponsoring is available. The sponsor device 210 displays the searchresult on a screen.

The sponsoring unit 214 activates the sponsoring processing method ofthe virus SC 106 using a parameter specifying the inspection requestselected as the sponsoring target by the sponsor. The above parameterincludes a sample hash value which is a key of the inspection request tobe sponsored and a reward addition amount (an addition amount to apredetermined reward, in other words). The sponsor processing unit (notillustrated) of the virus SC 106 updates the inspection informationidentified by the sample hash value using the above parameter. Forexample, the sponsor processing unit of the virus SC 106 sets thesponsor setting item 220 in FIG. 23 as inspection information. Inaddition, since the sponsor does not need to commit the result, thedeposit which is the incentive to commit the result is also unnecessary.

The configuration and operation of the inspection system 101 describedin the second embodiment and the modification can be described asfollows.

Item 1

The requester device 12 records inspection target data in apredetermined area, and records inspection reward to the blockchainsystem 104. Each of the one or more inspector devices 14 acquiresinspection target data recorded by the requester device 12 and recordsan inspection result (for example, an evaluation report) of theinspection target data in the predetermined area. The requester device12 acquires one or more inspection results recorded by the one or moreinspector devices 14, and records data of a correct-result provider whois an inspector whose inspection result is determined to be correct bythe requester (for example, an arrangement of correct-result provideraddresses) in the blockchain system 104. The blockchain system 104 (thevirus SC 106, for example) distributes the inspection reward to thecorrect-result provider.

With this configuration, the requester can obtain the inspection resultof the electronic data by one or more inspectors, and a correct-resultprovider among the one or more inspectors can realize a business modelto receive a reward. In addition, by using the blockchain system forreward payment, the requester can easily make a remittance (in otherwords, transfer of value) even when he/she does not have the credibilityto each inspector. In addition, repetition of small-amount remittancescan be easily realized. Further, tampering of the reward payment can beprevented.

Item 2

The blockchain system 104 (the actor SC 110, for example) stores thescore of each of one or more inspectors. The score of each inspector ismodified depending on whether or not the inspection result is correct(whether the evaluation result is white or black, for example). Theblockchain system 104 distributes a relatively high reward to theinspector whose score is relatively high among the one or moreinspectors whose inspection results are determined to be correct.

This configuration can provide the inspector with an incentive to createa correct evaluation result or, in other words, to make an evaluation ingood faith.

Item 3

Each of the one or more inspector devices 14 acquires the data of thecorrect-result provider from the blockchain system 104, and records, inthe blockchain system 104, an approval of the correct-result providerwhen the data of the correct-result provider is approved by theinspector (for example, the final commit). The blockchain system 104distributes the inspection reward to the correct-result provider whenall the inspector devices 14 record approval of the correct-resultprovider.

With this configuration, the reward is distributed to the correct-resultprovider on condition that the judgement of the correct-result providerby the requester is approved by all the inspectors corresponding to theinspection request of the requester. As a result, it is possible torealize a reward distribution that is satisfactory for each inspector.

Item 4

When recording the inspection target data (for example, at the time ofinspection request), the requester device 12 records at least a part ofcurrency (for example, a token) owned by the requester as a deposit tothe blockchain system 104 (the token SC 108, for example). Theblockchain system 104 refunds the deposit to the requester when all theinspector devices 14 record approvals of the correct-result provider.

With this configuration, by refunding the deposit to the requester oncondition of the approval of all the inspectors corresponding to theinspection request of the requester, an incentive to respond genuinelyto the opposition from the inspector is given to the requester. Forexample, even if an inspector, who has made a correct evaluation result(matches with the black-and-white judgement result of the requester), isnot included in the correct-result providers approved by the requester,the inspector makes an appeal to the requester. The requester whoreceives the appeal works to add the inspector in the arrangement of thecorrect-result provider addresses, or the like.

Item 5

Each of the one or more inspector devices 14 records at least a part ofcurrency owned by the inspector as a deposit to the blockchain system104 (the token SC 108, for example) when recording an inspection result(at the evaluation commit, for example). The blockchain system 104refunds the deposit to the inspector of the inspector device 14 when thecorrect-result provider approval has been recorded from the inspectordevice 14.

An inspector whose result is determined to be incorrect may not try toapprove the judgement of the correct-result providers by the requester;however, since the deposit is refund on condition of the approval, thismay provide an incentive to the inspector to approve the requesterjudgement of the correct-result providers. With this configuration, thescore of the inspector can be adjusted and the reward can be distributedunder the consent of all the inspectors.

Item 6

Each of the one or more inspector devices 14 records, in the blockchainsystem 104, the hash value (the evaluation hash value of FIG. 16, forexample) of the data obtained by combining the inspection result and therandom number value when recording the inspection result (theblack-and-white judgement result, for example).

With this configuration, the one or more inspector devices 14 can provetheir own evaluation results later by storing each random number value,and prevent the inspection result from being tampered by recording thehash value in the blockchain system 104.

Item 7

The requester device 12 records the inspection result (theblack-and-white judgement result, for example) and the viewing fee forthe inspection result in the blockchain system 104 (the virus SC 106,for example). The viewer device 16 causes the blockchain system 104 toexecute processing for paying the requester a viewing fee from thecurrency owned by the viewer.

Since the requester can make a profit by having the inspection resultsviewed, the requester can be provided with an incentive for requestingthe inspection. In addition, the payment of viewing fee can be preventedfrom tampering.

Item 8

The requester device 12 records the hash value of data obtained bycombining the inspection result and the random number (the result hashvalue of FIG. 16, for example) in the blockchain system 104 (the virusSC 106, for example) and notifies the portal server 102 of the randomnumber. When the viewing fee is paid from the viewer to the requester,the portal server 102 notifies the viewer device 16 of the random numberso that the viewer device 16 can identify the inspection result.

Since the smart contract of the blockchain system 104 is shared by eachdevice in the inspection system 101, each device of the inspectionsystem 101 can acquire the data of the inspection result from the smartcontract. However, when the above configuration is employed, it ispossible to prevent the inspection result (whether the sample is whiteor black, in other words) from being confirmed without paying theviewing fee.

Item 9

When recording the inspection target data, the requester device 12records at least a part of currency owned by the requester in theblockchain system 104 as a fee. The blockchain system 104 stores therequester score and determines the fee according to the requester score.The viewer device 16 adjusts the requester score stored in theblockchain system 104 by recording the requester evaluation input by theviewer in the blockchain system 104.

According to this configuration, it is possible to give the requester anincentive to try to improve his/her score to lower the fee or, in otherwords, to give the requester an incentive to properly make the black orwhite judgement of the sample.

Item 10

When acquiring the inspection result, the viewer device 16 records atleast a part of currency owned by the viewer as a deposit to theblockchain system 104. The blockchain system 104 refunds the deposit tothe viewer when a requester evaluation is recorded by the inspectordevice 14.

With this configuration, it is possible to provide the viewer with anincentive to evaluate the requester.

Item 11

The sponsor device 210 records the additional amount of inspectionreward in the blockchain system 104 (the virus SC 106, for example). Theblockchain system 104 distributes the reward including the additionalamount to the correct-result provider among the inspectors who performedthe inspection.

With this configuration, by providing a mechanism for adding the rewardamount, the inspector can be motivated and the inspections are activelyperformed.

Item 12

The requester device 12 records the upper limit of the reward in theblockchain system 104 when recording the inspection target data. Theadditional amount of the reward by the sponsor device 210 is limited bythe upper limit. The blockchain system 104 distributes the viewing feepaid by the viewer between the requester and the sponsor according tothe reward sharing ratio.

With this configuration, the requester can arbitrarily adjust the shareof the viewing fee or, in other words, the distribution ratio of theviewing fee with the sponsor, by setting the upper limit of the reward.

Item 13

The inspection system 101 may be configured without the requester device12 or, in other words, may be configured with only the plurality ofinspector devices 14 and the viewer device 16. In this configuration,the inspector may monitor the inspection target such as communicationdata (data such as a packet, for example) on a daily or periodic basis.For example, the inspector may extract and rule out unauthorized datacommunication and unauthorized access, which are patterns different froma predetermined pattern or policy, or may define an abnormal pattern inother words. The inspector device 14 may record the rule (the abnormalpattern, in other words) as a signature in the evaluation report, andmay register the information sharing offer including the evaluationreport and the reward amount necessary for viewing in the blockchainsystem 104. In other words, without receiving a request, the inspectormay voluntarily perform the search and register an evaluation reportincluding the inspection result and the countermeasure method in theblockchain system 104. The viewer browses an information sharing offerand pays the reward amount set by the inspector by the same mechanism asthe second embodiment. When the content of the viewed signature isvalid, the viewer may give the inspector a positive evaluation or pay anadditional reward. When the viewed signature is not valid, the viewermay give the inspector a negative evaluation, or the viewing fee paid bythe viewer may be collected by the organizer. Here, in thisconfiguration, the sponsor device 210 may be added.

According to the configuration of item 13, without an inspection requestfrom the requester, the inspector may independently inspect theillegitimate sample, security defects, and the like, to make theinformation public for a fee, or create a signature for detecting anunauthorized access as described above to provide information for a fee.The viewers (a security software provider, for example) can efficientlytake a security measure. In addition, since the reward is given, it isexpected that the inspector will be more motivated to monitor thedetection of illegitimate data or information access.

Combinations of any of the embodiments and variations described aboveare also useful as embodiments of the present invention. The newembodiments resulting from the combination combine the effects of eachof the combined embodiments and variations. Further, it is understood bythose skilled in the art that the functions to be performed by therespective constituent elements described in the claims can be realizedby a single element or a combination of the respective constituentelements described in the embodiments and the modifications.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applicable to a system for inspectingelectronic data

The invention claimed is:
 1. An inspection system comprising: a first device configured to record inspection target data in a predetermined area; a second device operated by a user who inspects whether the inspection target data is illegitimate or not, wherein the second device is different from the first device; and a third device configured to use an inspection result of the inspection target data, wherein the first device records attribute information related to the inspection target data in a predetermined blockchain network, and wherein the predetermined area comprises a device outside the blockchain network, the second device acquires the inspection target data recorded by the first device and records the inspection result of the inspection target data in the predetermined area, and the third device acquires the inspection result recorded by the second device.
 2. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the second device acquires the attribute information from the blockchain network and acquires the inspection target data based on the acquired attribute information.
 3. The inspection system according to claim 2, wherein the second device acquires the inspection target data from the external device based on an address indicated by the attribute information.
 4. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the second device records the inspection result in the predetermined blockchain network, and the third device acquires the inspection result from the blockchain network.
 5. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the third device executes a reward payment process for a user of the first device and a user of the second device when the inspection result is acquired.
 6. An inspection system comprising: a requester device operated by an inspection requester; one or more inspector devices operated by one or more inspectors, wherein the one or more inspector devices is different from the requester device; and a blockchain system being accessible by the requester device and the inspector device, wherein the requester device records inspection target data in a predetermined area and records an inspection reward in the blockchain system, wherein the predetermined area comprises a device outside the blockchain system, the inspector device acquires the inspection target data recorded by the requester device and records an inspection result of the inspection target data in the predetermined area, the requester device acquires the inspection result recorded by the inspector device and records, in the blockchain system, data of a correct-result provider who is an inspector whose inspection result is recognized to be correct by the requester, and the blockchain system distributes the inspection reward to the correct-result provider.
 7. The inspection system according to claim 6, wherein the blockchain system stores a score of each of the one or more inspectors and the score of each inspector is modified according to whether his/her inspection result is correct or not, and the blockchain system distributes a relatively higher reward to an inspector whose score is relatively high from the one or more inspectors whose inspection results are determined to be correct.
 8. The inspection system according to claim 6, wherein each of the one or more inspector devices acquires the data of the correct-result provider from the blockchain system and, when the data of the correct-result provider is approved by the inspector, records the approval of the correct-result provider in the blockchain system, and the blockchain system distributes the inspection reward to the correct-result provider when the approval of the correct-result provider is recorded by all the inspector devices.
 9. The inspection system according to claim 8, wherein the requester device records, in the blockchain system, at least a part of currency owned by the requester as a deposit when recording the inspection target data, and the blockchain system refunds the deposit to the requester when the approval of the correct-result provider is recorded by all the inspector devices.
 10. The inspection system according to claim 8, wherein each of the one or more inspector devices records, in the blockchain system, at least a part of currency owned by the inspector as a deposit when recording the inspection result, and when an approval of the correct-result provider is recorded by a certain inspector device, the blockchain system refunds the deposit to the inspector of the certain inspector device.
 11. The inspection system according to claim 8, wherein each of the one or more inspector devices records, in the blockchain system, a hash value of data in which the inspection result and a random number value are combined, when recording the inspection result.
 12. The inspection system according to claim 6, further comprising: a viewer device operated by a viewer of the inspection result, wherein the requester device records, in the blockchain system, the inspection result and a viewing fee of the inspection result, and the viewer device causes the blockchain system to execute a process of paying the requester the viewing fee using the currency owned by the viewer.
 13. The inspection system according to claim 12, further comprising: a management device, wherein the requester device records, in the blockchain system, a hash value of data in which the inspection result and a random number are combined, as the inspection result and notifies the management device of the random number, and when the viewer pays the requester the viewing fee, the management device notifies the viewer device of the random number so that the viewer device can identify the inspection result.
 14. The inspection system according to claim 12, wherein the requester device records, in the blockchain system, at least a part of currency owned by the requester as a fee when recording the inspection target data, the blockchain system stores a score of the requester and determines the fee according to the score of the requester, and the viewer device records, in the blockchain system, a requester evaluation input by the viewer to adjust the score of the requester stored in the blockchain system.
 15. The inspection system according to claim 14, wherein the viewer device records, in the blockchain system, at least a part of currency owned by the viewer as a deposit when acquiring the inspection result, and the blockchain system refunds the deposit to the viewer when the viewer device records the requester evaluation.
 16. The inspection system according to claim 6, further comprising: a sponsor device operated by a sponsor who supports the inspection of the inspection target data, wherein the sponsor device records, in the blockchain system, an additional amount of the inspection reward, and the blockchain system distributes the reward including the additional amount to the correct-result provider.
 17. The inspection system according to claim 16, wherein the requester device records an upper limit of the reward in the blockchain system when recording the inspection target data, the additional amount of the reward provided by the sponsor device is limited by the upper limit, and the blockchain system distributes the viewing fee paid by the viewer to the requester and the sponsor based on a reward sharing ratio.
 18. An inspection method comprising: a step of recording inspection target data in a predetermined area and recording attribute information related to the inspection target data in a predetermined blockchain network by a first device, wherein the predetermined area comprises a device outside the blockchain network; a step of acquiring the inspection target data recorded by the first device, by a second device operated by a user who inspects whether the inspection target data is illegitimate or not, wherein the second device is different from the first device; a step of recording an inspection result of the inspection target data in the predetermined area by the second device; and a step of acquiring the inspection result recorded by the second device, by a third device that uses the inspection result of the inspection target data.
 19. An inspection method comprising: a step of recording inspection target data in a predetermined area and recording an inspection reward in a blockchain system by a requester device operated by an inspection requester, wherein the predetermined area comprises a device outside the blockchain system; a step of acquiring the inspection target data recorded by the requester device and recording an inspection result of the inspection target data in the predetermined area by each of one or more inspector devices operated by one or more inspectors, wherein the one or more inspector devices is different from the requester device; a step of acquiring the inspection result recorded by the one or more inspector devices and recording, in the blockchain system, data of a correct-result provider who is an inspector whose inspection result is recognized to be correct by the requester, by the requester device; and a step of distributing the inspection reward to the correct-result provider by the blockchain system.
 20. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing a computer program that causes a computer to: receive inspection target data from a first device and record the inspection target data in a predetermined area, wherein the first device records attribute information related to the inspection target data in a predetermined blockchain network, and wherein the computer and the predetermined area comprise at least one device outside the blockchain network; provide the received inspection target data to a second device operated by a user who inspects whether the inspection target data is illegitimate or not, wherein the second device is different from the first device; receive an inspection result of the inspection target data from the second device; and provide the inspection result to a third device that requests the inspection result of the inspection target data. 